BASKETBALL 2324 Presented By TEAM > Individual Parts Unfinished Perfection Inside: 2023-24 OFFICIAL KENTUCKY BASKETBALL YEARBOOK e Official 2023-24 Kentucky Basketball Yearbook sented by Kentucky Farm Bureau InsuranceIt's Easy to SAVE with the Kroger App Score big with weekly sales and digital coupons Official Grocery Partner of UK AthleticsCONTENTS 2023-24 Wildcats 20 Aaron Bradshaw 22 Jordan Burks 24 Brennan Canada 26 Grant Darbyshire 28 Rob Dillingham 30 Justin Edwards 32 Joey Hart 34 Walker Horn 36 Zvonimir Ivišic 37 Tre Mitchell 38 Ugonna Onyenso 40 Antonio Reeves 42 Reed Sheppard 44 Adou Thiero 46 D.J. Wagner 48 Kareem Watkins Coaching Staff 52 Head Coach John Calipari 54 Associate to the Head Coach James “Bruiser” Flint 55 Associate Coach Orlando Antigua 56 Assistant Coach Ronald “Chin” Coleman 57 Assistant Coach Chuck Martin 58 Assistant Coach John Welch 2023-24 Opponents 60 New Mexico State 61 Texas A&M-Commerce 62 Kansas 64 Stonehill 64 Saint Joseph’s 66 Marshall 68 Miami 70 UNCW 71 Penn 72 North Carolina 73 Louisville 74 Illinois State 75 Florida 76 Missouri 77 Texas A&M 78 Mississippi State 79 Georgia 80 South Carolina 81 Arkansas 82 Tennessee 83 Vanderbilt 84 Gonzaga 85 Ole Miss 86 Auburn 87 LSU 88 Alabama University & Tradition 90 University of Kentucky 92 President Eli Capilouto 94 Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart 97 Hall of Fame 98 Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center 100 Kentucky in the NBA 104 Kentucky in the NBA Draft 107 Kentucky in the NCAA 108 Kentucky in the SEC 110 Unparalleled Tradition 113 Retired Jerseys 114 All-Americans 117 UK Sports Network 2023-24 Kentucky Basketball Yearbook is published by the University of Kentucky Athletics Department. University of Kentucky Athletics Director: Mitch Barnhart Communications and Public Relations: Deb Moore, Brett Rybak 546 East Main Street First Floor Lexington, KY 40508 (859) 226-4540 UK Sports Marketing Powered by JMI Sports Brandon Baker, Curtis Burch, Randy Carter, John Foellger, Annie Gillenwater, Devin Jones, Adair Mattingly, Seth Poteat, Kim Ramsay, Lance Reed, Courtney Roney, Chad Ruhl, Kim Shelton, Brad Tucker Design & Publishing Managing Editor Jai Giffin Creative Director Jamie Barker Production Assistance Laura Doolittle, Lisa Roberts On the Cover Top (l-r): Tre Mitchell, Kareem Watkins, Jordan Burks, Zvonimir Iviši´c, Grant Darbyshire, Walker Horn, Brennan Canada, Joey Hart, Antonio Reeves, Reed Sheppard, Ugonna Onyenso, Rob Dillingham, Aaron Bradshaw, D.J. Wagner, Justin Edwards and Adou Thiero Team > Individual Parts Teamwork, versatility and strong guard play lead to high hopes for the 2023-24 season. 4 Unfinished Perfection “The Big Three” led the 1953-54 team to a 25-0 record that ended with no postseason play. 8 2023-24 KENTUCKY BASKETBALL 2 @KentuckyMBB ´By Tom Leach “Voice of the Wildcats” 4 @KentuckyMBB Teamwork, versatility and strong guard play lead to high hopes for the 2023-24 season.K entucky won the 1998 national title in college basketball without the NBA first-round draft talent of the previous two teams that reached the championship game. Those guys will tell you that their success was a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its individual parts. Jeff Sheppard was one of those “parts” in 1998. He saw glimpses of that kind of all-in- for-the-team mentality in the current Wild- cats’ four-game run to win the FIBA Globl Jam event in Toronto in July -- and he loves seeing his son, Reed, being a part of it. “I’m 48 years old. When I reflect on life lessons that I continue to try and live by, basketball teaches so many of them. There’s one principal that is so powerful. If I can be in a relationship or part of an organization for what someone else receives, not for what I receive, then something very special can happen,” Sheppard said in an interview with the UK Sports Network at the Globl Jam. “If you’re with an organization like a basket- ball team and all of them buy in, then what ends up happening is you have all of these teammates in this relationship for what you receive (and vice versa) and it becomes so much more powerful.” In the Globl Jam title game (89-72) win over Canada, an assist was recorded on 26 of Kentucky’s 37 field goals. For the four games of the tournament, the Wildcats as- sisted on an amazing 72 percent of their baskets (103/142). “They can all dribble, pass and shoot,” noted coach John Calipari, who has built a roster laden with strong guard play. Rookies D.J. Wagner, Rob Dillingham and Sheppard were all the primary ballhandlers for their teams last season and Calipari has demon- strated frequently in his time at Kentucky that his teams do well with multiple point guard types on the court at the same time. “It’s incredible,” senior Antonio Reeves said of the unselfish play. “We got a good group of guys that hang out with each other, stick with each other, all day, every day and that’s how that unselfishness comes in and it @UKSportsNetwork 5 During his time at Kentucky, John Calipari has demonstrated that his teams do well with multiple point guard types.6 @KentuckyMBB shows on the floor.” Reeves stands to be a big beneficiary of that unselfishness from the primary ball- handlers, when they drive and kick it out to him for open 3-point shots. In the games in Toronto, Reeves averaged 22.5 points per game and earned MVP honors. Tre Mitchell was a late addition to the UK roster via the transfer portal from West Virginia’s program. Mitchell showed off his playmaking skills from the "5" position in Canada, as well as his scoring and rebound- ing. He says it did not take him long to see that his new team was jelling well ahead of schedule. “Being on this team, this is something I haven’t seen this early. Dudes are not afraid to give the ball up. They’ll give up a good shot for a great shot. That’s going to be something that makes us great in the long run,” Mitchell said after one of the team’s summer wins. “The way these guys com- pete surprised me a little bit. I didn’t know what I was walking into, but once I got here, you feel the edge and I like I can get be- hind this and add to this. We have a lot of guys that can do a lot of things. They’re very versatile. I think you’re going to see a lot of different lineups because we have the ability to do it.” “He gives them a little more versatility,” ESPN college basketball analyst Mark Wise said of Mitchell. “I thought Kentucky had really good players the past couple of years within a certain window but you get them outside of that window and they struggled. Now, they have more guys that do more things. I think Mitchell adds to that and I thought (Adou) Thiero had some good mo- ments (in Toronto). I think they have more guys that can handle the ball.” Thiero was productive in flashes last sea- son as a freshman and he figures to build on that in year two if the summer tourna- ment was any indication. Thiero showed up with a more physically developed body that allowed him to mix it up in the paint for re- bounds and free throw attempts. “I have more confidence now,” Thiero said in Canada. “I didn’t realize how strong I was getting until people pointed it out. I think it will help me guard multiple posi- tions. I’m stronger and I can take it into people’s chest a little more and finish at the basket.” Calipari has talked about return to the Dribble Drive Motion offense that he brought with him from Memphis to UK. It’s a good fit for a team full of guards and wings with the ability to beat their man off the bounce and get into the lane. The more a team commits to that kind of attack, the less it needs to rely on a back-to-the-basket big man on the low blocks. It’s not just ability and versatility that was evident in the Globl Jam games but also a high basketball IQ collectively. Student as- sistant coach, and former UK star, Tyler Ulis has seen that quality in this group as it was going through practices for the Canadian excursion. “We didn’t have time to put a lot of things in so they adapted and used their instincts. We saw that in practice. These guys respect each other and they’re selfless. They’re always in the gym playing with each other. These guys are going to be special,” Ulis said. “They love the game.” This also figures to be the most NBA draft prospects Calipari has on one of his UK ros- ters since 2020. Wing player Justin Edwards is arguably the highest-rated player on the UK roster if you’re talking about NBA pro- jections for 2024. The Philadelphia product got off to a slow start in the Globl Jam but came on strong to post his best numbers in the final two games. “Whatever happens this season, they’ll both be high draft picks and they’ll both play for a long time in that league,” CBS college basketball writer Gary Parrish said Coach Calipari has talked about a return to the Dribble Drive Motion offense to take full advantage of Kentucky's guard play in 2023-24.@UKSportsNetwork 7 of Edwards and Wagner. “There’s not two freshmen in the country I’d rather have than those two. I think they’ll both be great right from the jump.” What Kentucky will do at that “5” spot this winter is still unknown with Ugonna Onyenso and Aaron Bradshaw recovering from foot injuries and Zvonimir Ivisic’s sta- tus undetermined as this yearbook went to press. Still, ESPN’s Wise liked what he saw in the four summer games. “It’s a little bit of a skewed observation (for me) because they had to play with- out their big guys I thought the backcourt was unselfish. That’s good to see. The ball would stick at times in (Sahvir) Wheeler’s hands (last year). He’s a really good small guard but small guards come with prob- lems. I see a different kind of point guard (on this team),” he added during an appear- ance on “The Leach Report” radio show in July. “Watching Wagner, they’ve got a guy that can create his own (shots) and I don’t know if they’ve had that for a couple of years. The ball is going to be in Wagner’s hands a lot and I liked how the other guards played off him. I think the future is certainly bright but it also comes with ‘let’s slow down a min- ute and see them in the regular season’.” Wagner is a legacy recruit for Calipari as D.J.’s dad, Dajuan, played for Cal at Memphis. The freshman’s grandfather is former Universi- ty of Louisville star Milt Wagner and D.J. is not worried about living up to expectations. “Ain’t no pressure. My dad and my grandpop have tried to help me as much as possible with all of that. They’re always just telling me not to worry about that stuff, but it’s definitely an honor (to be mentioned with them),” said Wagner. “It’s exciting.” However, the roster plays out and what- ever the style of play, Calipari’s longtime friend and former coach Seth Greenberg of ESPN knows Kentucky will be better posi- tioned to succeed with a freshman-heavy roster than many other teams might be in this area when older teams have advanced farther than younger ones in recent NCAA Tournaments. “All these guys roll in and think college basketball is easy and then they get into practice--it’s not that easy. The great thing about Cal is that he does not enable. He coaches his best players,” Greenberg noted. “He’s not afraid to challenge them. Once they allow themselves to be coached and understand what playing hard is, then the light bulb really goes on.” In the Globl Jam title game (89-72) win over Canada, an assist was recorded on 26 of Kentucky’s 37 field goals. Hip-hop music superstar Drake opened his home to Kentucky basketball during the team's trip to the Globl Jam Tournament in Toronto in July.Next >